Future Bakery & Cafe

It’s been a rough couple of weeks in Toronto. The weather has been terrible! I don’t remember the last time I wore anything but my thick winter coat, let alone a spring jacket. It IS spring after all…right? To cheer myself up, a fellow food lover and I went over to the classic neighbourhood hangout – Future Bakery in the Annex – for a couple of sweet bites. Although I don’t have a sweet tooth, I appreciate a cup of apple cider and a piece of pie once in a while. It’s the perfect way to spend a week night – sitting in front of a window facing the street and people watching, with a few treats to nibble on. It’s one of those things I don’t often do, but when I do it, I wonder why I don’t sit around a coffee shop more often.

483 Bloor St. W Toronto, ON M5S 2N5 (416) 922-5875

Future Bakery has been around for a while and I remember coming here a while back to study. I never understood how people could study here really. There is always a load of people sitting around chattering away (as they should!) so when I walked around, I scratched my head when I see people burying their heads in a textbook. It was a Thursday night and Future was already fairly packed. The crowd is young and lively, most probably students and locals just catching up over Future’s delicious drinks and food. It’s the coffee shop that everyone loves and doesn’t come off overbearing with a giant commercial logo slapped onto it.

There is a wide selection of pies and cakes to choose from. I felt like kid in a candy shop (or a cake shop). OH wait. I was! The assortment of cakes was mouth-watering. For someone who can’t make decisions when presented with such variety, I did a wild stab in the dark and went with the cherry pie. Or black forest. Or…pecan..pie..? I settled with the strawberry pie. But secretly wanted a batch of the freshly baked cookies and muffins. I don’t know how people make decisions in this place.

As we waited in line for the server to help us (self-serve atmosphere), I had a look around and whiffed in the smells around me. It was a mixture of coffee and tea and people and sweets. That enticed me to get a my favourite hot spiced apple cider. It’s confusing when I think about because essentially I am paying ~$4 for hot apple juice. Our server quickly got our orders ready and checked us out. It a was surprisingly good deal! $16 for 2 drinks and 2 slices of pie/cake.

My partner-in-crime and I had a good chat and it went for a couple of hours. The time went by very fast, much due to the cozy atmosphere that Future created for its patrons. As I took sips of my cider and took bites from my pie, I secretly wished that the cider and pie would self-replenish. The cider was obviously very “apple-y” and the pie was very “strawberry-y”, just like I wanted. Future did not cut back on ingredients at all as my food was quite flavourful. I should’ve gone back for the cherry pie…

In conclusion, I will come back. I am easily distracted so you won’t find me hanging out here trying to cram in course notes for my exam the next day, but hey! I’m not a student anymore so I don’t have anything to study for anyways! This is a fantastic place for catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. I mean, I can see Future as the perfect for anything really. I could bring a date here. I can call some friends and hang out here. Heck, I can probably come here and just sit there and look out the window. The best feeling is to sit inside a warm and cozy coffee shop with a hot chocolate and cookie in hand, looking outside as people freeze in the brisk Toronto spring weather. Don’t lie. You know exactly what I’m talking about. When you see someone outside with their umbrella blowing away in the wind and you’re inside, you secretly snicker to yourself. Yes? No..? Ok maybe it’s only me then.